Newmarket's horse racing fraternity hold their own in Twenty20 clash with town's cricket club
The bond between Newmarket’s cricket club and trainers was strengthened on Sunday by a Twenty20 fixture.
The match – played in hot conditions at The Serverals in the heart of the town – was the second time the Racing & Trainers XI had raised a side to take on their cricketing counterparts.
The funds raised from the event, which are being donated to Racing Welfare, is yet to be officially ratified, but Newmarket’s first-team captain Mark Nunn believes the day was a big success.
He said: “It was a really good day and I think the weather was a major player in that.
“It was a really good charity day. There was about 200 people watching, which was up on the 120 that came along last year.
“The money raised is still being counted but we think it’s going to be a healthy sum.”
The match itself, which the cricketers win by 17 runs, saw the likes of George Scott, Charlie Fellowes, Harry Eustace and Richard Spencer all swap the gallops for their whites.
Yet it was the performance of 1,000 Guineas-winning trainer George Boughey that caught the eye.
Nunn added: “It was a close game and the trainers played well.
“George Boughey was the stand out player for them. He played one reverse sweep to perfection and hit a couple of big sixes over deep mid-on.
“At one point he was on about 34 from 18 balls and gave their innings some real momentum.”
The match came 24 hours after second-from-bottom Newmarket (133) slumped to a six-wicket defeat at Ramsey (135-4), leaving them seven points from safety in the Whiting & Partners Division One standings.
It was an all-too-familiar collapse with the bat from The Stampede, who went from being relatively comfortable on 90-3 to 133 all out.
“It’s really frustrating. We’re doing some good things in games but not finding a way to win often enough,” said Nunn.
“We won the toss on a decent pitch and at 90-3 that should have been a platform to really kick on.
“Nobody is outplaying us and we’re always getting into positions to make games tight or even win them, but it’s not happening.
“The decks are good at the moment. There’s no rain so the ball isn’t doing anything, but we’re still not putting on totals that we can defend.
“On Saturday we were at least 50 runs shorts – 180 would have given us a good chance and we should have got there.”
This Saturday Nunn’s side face a stern test with the visit of table-topping Wisbech Town – a team that has lost just once so far this term (1pm).
Nunn said: “We’ve always said this season is about staying in the league and that’s what we’re trying to do.
“It’s going to be a very tough game and we’ll be looking to pick up as many points as we can.
“We’re not in great form but if we can sneak a win that would be unbelievable for confidence.”
